Red Cross training for hurricane relief.

Byline: Bill Bishop The Register-Guard

Gearing up for at least a yearlong presence in the Hurricane Katrina disaster zone, the local chapter of the American Red Cross is training hundreds of volunteers and helping at least 40 families who have evacuated from the affected area to Eugene.

To rally the help needed, the usual 40-hour Red Cross volunteer training period has been shortened to two, eight-hour classes. Volunteers must commit to a three-week stint in the disaster zone, chapter spokeswoman Jenny Carrick said.

A total of 65 people completed training last week and "literally hundreds more" are awaiting the next training sessions scheduled this month and next, she said.

For volunteers in Hurricane Katrina relief, it will be no vacation.

"The conditions are horrible. We want to make sure people know that up front," Carrick said.

Those in the Red Cross effort can look forward to weeks of 15-hour days, living in crowded shelters that may not have electricity, eating shelter food and confronting a flood of evacuees needing a full range of services, she said.

Volunteers with backgrounds in medicine or counseling, and those trained to answer phones are in particularly high demand.

The local effort is part of a nationwide push that already has recruited 63,000 volunteers. An additional 40,000 are needed, Carrick said.

Volunteers and cash donations are the bread and butter of the Red Cross relief effort. The agency has no collection, storage or resale facilities to handle donations of goods and materials. Shipping costs are prohibitive as well, whereas cash donations to victims tend to stimulate economic recovery in the disaster zone, she added.

Volunteers must apply by calling the local Red Cross office at least one week before training begins to complete paperwork and background checks before being trained. Once trained, they receive air fare, shelter and food while volunteering but must cover their own medical needs.

"It's a lot of hard work. That's the one thing we want to make sure they understand," Carrick said. "We anticipate being on the ground in the affected area for ... at least a year, maybe longer."

While Oregon has not received any large, organized group of evacuees, many individuals and families have trickled into the area, Carrick said. One man even hitchhiked to Coos Bay from the flood-stricken area. Katrina evacuees receive $665 in cash assistance, plus two weeks of lodging and assistance connecting with government aid and services.

AMERICAN RED CROSS

Training: The next training sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 24-25 and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 11-13 and all day on Oct. 15. A training session for health service providers will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Donations: Send checks to the Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Fund, 862 Bethel Drive, Eugene, OR 97402; call 344-5244 or (800) HELP-NOW; or donate online at www.redcross.com.